What’s this, Iggles bettors?
The public is all over the Minnesota Vikings Monday night, weighing in at 66% of the DraftKings money at +2 for the prime-time matchup at the Linc.
It will be interesting to see if the line fluctuates much over the weekend leading to the game.
Although the Eagles and Vikings both won their opening games, Minnesota’s 23-7 throttling of the Green Bay Packers was more impressive than the Eagles’ 38-35 nailbiter over the Detroit Lions.
Eagles Super Bowl Odds + Division & Conference Futures
Eagles / Viking Betting Odds Line Movement
The line has drifted from between 2 and 3 points all week. A full-point fluctuation is pretty significant, and books usually test the waters about what should be a prominent betting game.
Normally, if a book puts the line down to 2 or 2.5, Eagles bettors swarm. Nudge it to 3 and here c
omes the stampede from Minnesota. But in this case, it’s been Minnesota money all the way, so far.
- Part of that may be because the game is Monday and heavier volume will come in close to kickoff.
- Another is that the Vikings just toyed with the Green Bay Packers, last year’s No. 1 playoff seed.
The line allows excellent betting potential either way, as two teams try to record a statement game.
The matchup is already popular, sitting in the Monday Night perch. And it’s even better because of the lead-in provided by the Buffalo Bills-Tennessee Titans game, which starts at 7:30.
“This will be our best ticket of the two games,” Johnny Avello, the director of race and sportsbook operations for DraftKings, told Iggles.com.
“The first game starts during the afternoon on the West Coast, you are slowly building on that one and then the Eagles game is in full prime time and it is going to do great business.”
Here is some of that business Eagles fans can consider.
And Now There Are Five
Avello said he expects a special DraftKings promo to stay up all year.
It pays moneyline bettors when their team gets up by a certain number of points, regardless of whether they win or lose.
Last week, the promo bar was 10 points, and it mattered as four teams that went up 10 points and did not win…
- Tennessee Titans
- San Francisco 49ers
- Atlanta Falcons
- Houston Texans
…all still produced winning tickets for their betters under that promo.
On Thursday night, the promo number was 7.
So, when the Los Angeles Chargers went up 10-0 on the Kansas City Chiefs early, bettors who opted in and took the Chargers were paid. That was big because the Chargers then lost to the Chiefs 27-24. That made five.
Draft Kings has dangled an enticement to Birds bettors.
Will Justin Jefferson and A.J. Brown combine for more than 300 yards and two touchdowns?
- It pays +1600.
Hmmm. It did last week, when the pair had over 330 yards and Jefferson had a pair of scores. Bettors will be tempted to jump at that one. If you wonder why something that appears realistic would be up there at such a fat price, the books are figuring lighting won’t strike two weeks in a row.
The props will go up later on this game than on the Sunday contests so that Iggles bettors can expect a gradual rollout.
Some have already been posted.
Here are the Top 5 Anytime & First Touchdown Scorers listed by DraftKings on Friday morning:
Anytime Scorer
- Davin Cook -145
- Jalen Hurts +105
- Justin Jefferson +110
- Miles Sanders +115
- A.J. Brown +155
To Score First
- Cook +600
- Hurts +800
- Jefferson +850
- Sanders 950
- Brown +1100
Cashing Corner – Week 1
Eagles bettors pocketed some props outlined here last week. Hopefully, some of these cashed tickets look familiar to you.
- We mentioned it here at +400, recalling the Eagles earned only one Special Teams TD last year in that 44-6 shellacking of the Lions. In this 38-35 nailbiter, they got another one. It was +400. Nice.
- Miles Sanders got off the schneid and scored, even though the book was all over it and listed him only at +110.
- Jalen Hurts to score was +100, down from the +400-500 range for most quarterbacks. Hurts is treated like a running back on the props, but he ran up your bankroll if you had him.
- The Eagles to score more than three touchdowns was +135. That looked like a gift then and sure looks good in people’s bank accounts now. The Birds had five.
- The Eagles getting more than 26.5 points was -120. A little heavy on the juice but it was almost in the bank by halftime. Ching.
- Jared Goff to toss a pick was -105. Money in the bank again.
More of these props will go up closer to game time. Minnesota quarterback Kirk Cousins has usually been good for a pick a game.
See if the price matches your expectations.
Check Out Why Eagles Why
Parlay Pete Amato, Bill Gelman and myself host the Why Eagles Why YouTube podcast weekly. It’s a look back and a look ahead at Eagles fortunes.
The latest episode concerns a preview of this game, an analysis of the Dak Prescott injury in Dallas and a look at Bill’s “favorite” player, Jalen Reagor.
It is lost on no one that Reagor, the Eagles’ No. 1 draft pick in 2020, now returns punts for the Vikings. And that Justin Jefferson, who the Vikings took right after the Eagles passed on him, is one of the game’s elite receivers.
All of that, and more, is at Why Eagles Why.
Good luck with your bankroll, Iggles bettors!
